Argentina: ghosts of 2001 default linger

Argentina believes it has closed the chapter on its $100bn sovereign default in 2001 after two debt swaps, in 2005 and 2010, which have restructured more than 92 per cent of the defaulted bonds.

It says the two take-it-or-leave-it offers prove its good faith in the matter, and has vowed not to negotiate or settle with the remaining “holdouts” – especially so-called “vulture” funds which are among those to have been pursuing it through US courts.

But a new avenue of litigation has been opened with a 283-page decision last week by the World Bank’s arbitration tribunal, ICSID, which has not yet been made public, that it is competent to hear a claim for more than $1bn brought by some 60,000 jilted Italian bondholders.

Represented by global law firm White & Case, the Italian bondholders say Argentina is accountable under a bilateral investment protection treaty. The World Bank’s International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes ruled on August 4 that it was competent to hear the case. (continue reading… )